If “Revolutionary Road” was not the bleakest movie of 2008, I’m glad I missed what was.

Based on a novel by Richard Yates, the well-crafted mass of misery is most notable for Kate Winslet’s Oscar-quality performance — she won for “The Reader” but she’s better here — and her reuniting with Leonardo DiCaprio for the first time since they were flailing in the freezing waters off the Titanic.

Winslet plays a suffocating mid-’50s suburban housewife teetering on the edge of despair as her hopes and dreams — of living abroad — keep getting crushed, by monotony and by her husband’s (DiCaprio) fickleness.

DiCaprio complements Winslet’s complex portrayal, revealing shadings of a once-upbeat and cocky young man who, over the years, becomes successful at a job he hates — and gets caught up in the misogynistic conformity of the period.

The stars meld well, shifting easily from a sexy, optimistic jitterbug to a pas de deux of pain and anxiety.

Directed by Sam Mendes (Winslet’s husband), the film conveys a sharp taste of the ’50s through its look and attitudes.

The acting’s top-notch. And if you’re in the mood for a quality take on a crumbling marriage, I won’t try to stop you from checking it out.

That’s the case with “Defiance,” a powerful picture about a cluster of Jews fighting back against the Nazis.

The first time I saw it I was moved, but felt director Edward Zwick’s storytelling was awkward and uneven. This time it played smoother and was more engaging.

Zwick (“Glory,” new on Blu-ray, and “Blood Diamond”) doesn’t vary his tone much — it’s intense from the get-go — but he still winds up with an inspirational saga, all the more so because it’s based on a true story.

“Defiance” follows the four Bielski brothers after their parents are killed in a village in what was then the Soviet Republic of Belorussia.

Escaping the Germans’ campaign of genocide in 1941, the brothers hide in the surrounding woods, where they are soon joined by other Jewish refugees from the country and from cities.

Designated leaders, the oldest siblings — rugged, charismatic Tuvia (Daniel “James Bond” Craig) and skilled, combative Zus (Liev Schreiber) — organize a camouflaged camp from which they and others strike back at the Nazis and their collaborators.

Most of the drama stems from clashes between the strong-willed older brothers as well as among members of the camp and from the occasional battles.

A moving coda shows images of the real characters and reveals their fates after the war. The Bielskis saved 1,200 Jews and their descendants reportedly number 19,000.

Extras: A meaty package includes filmmaker’s commentary, interviews with the Bielskis’ descendants, making-of doc, photos of survivors; more on Blu-ray.

“Fox and the Child”: Wild fox bonds with girl, 10, and has adventures; Kate Winslet narrates.

“He’s Just Not That Into You”: Interconnected male and female twenty- and thirtysomethings try to interpret behaviors of the opposite sex. Fat chance.

The impressive cast includes Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Connelly and Ben Affleck; also on Blu-ray.

“Labou”: Three kids search for a pirate’s ghost and his treasure in the Louisiana bayou and find the title critter.

“New York Yankees: Perfect Games and No-Hitters”: Includes Don Larsen’s 1956 World Series Perfect Game and Jim Abbott, the pitcher with one hand, tossing a no-hitter in 1993; with many pitcher interviews and features.

“Silent Venom”: Giant mutant snake forces island inhabitants to evacuate via an old submarine which undergoes an attack by a Chinese vessel and, on board, by more mutant snakes; with Luke Perry, though heaven knows why.

“Une Femme Mariee” (“A Married Woman”): Director Jean-Luc Godard examines modern life via this 1964 drama about a day in the life of a woman (Macha Meril) who discovers she’s pregnant but doesn’t know if the father is her controlling husband or her lover, who treats her as a sex object.

So I was pleasantly surprised to see Van Damme, whose range is usually from A to B without stops to sightsee, show some chops in “JCVD,” out on DVD and Blu-ray.

Dark and taut, the film’s a self-referential spoof highlighted by a mesmerizing 10-minute monologue by his character, a pudgy, aging action star named Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Depressed after losing a child-custody battle and being passed over for a leading role in favor of Seagal, he’s taken hostage, along with others, during a messed-up Belgian post-office robbery.

Rather than act the hero, as everyone expects — the film’s a meditation on celebrity — this Van Damme’s vigilant, but frightened like all the rest.

Consistent with the genre it parodies, “JCVD” delivers bursts of violence and much more drama than wit. That makes it a fine rental for Van Damme’s fans as well as the just plain curious.

Extras: Theatrical, French and English versions; deleted scenes; trailer.

Barking up the right tree

“Hotel for Dogs” has kids’ flick scribbled all over it, from the cute title to the canine-packed DVD cover and the film’s gazillion close-ups of mugging pups.

The comedy plays fairly well on the small screen, especially for kids — but also for adults who like looking at dogs and Rube Goldberg-like dog-themed contraptions (for feeding, ball-tossing and cleaning up after) and who enjoy underdog tales (couldn’t resist).

Though skimpier than most kids-oriented comedies and shy of much laugh-out-loud humor, the film provides a lively diversion with an appealing cast, two- and four-legged.

The suddenly ubiquitous Emma Roberts, Julia’s niece, and Jake T. Austin star as con-artist foster sibs living with an obnoxious couple (Lisa Kudrow and Kevin Dillion, over the top as a bad rock act) who won’t let them keep their beloved mutt.

When the kids stumble into an abandoned hotel, already home to two mismatched strays, they fix it up on the sly for their dog and the others.

With an assist from two pet-store employees, they round up every other stray they can find — and so-so sight gags ensue.

A mood-cracking subplot involves the threat of the sibs being separated and sent to different homes. Don Cheadle co-stars.

Extras: Commentary; deleted scenes; K-9 casting, “Bark on Cue”; more.

Guilty pleasure

While channel-surfing one night I discovered the raunchy British comedy series “Pulling,” about three “Ab-Fab”-type single women leading lives of noisy desperation.

Series creator Sharon Horgan anchors the six-episode first season, on DVD this week, as Donna, a bride-to-be who, during her bachelorette party, opts to stay single rather than marry her dull, longtime live-in lover the next day.

Instead, she moves in with her best friends, a blowzy, sexually indiscriminate alcoholic schoolteacher and her man-hungry roommate.

Their stories deliver a compelling stew of existential loneliness, dating, sex, boozing and partying with various men.

The comedy comes from their behavior rather than a series of one-liners, although the writing is sharp.

Look at the DVD cover and you’ll get a good sense of the characters.

Sometimes it’s unsettling as each of the women continually shoots herself in the foot or wallows in the same-old self-destructive patterns. That indicates the humanity of their plight, visible despite the exaggerated situations.

“Bride Wars”: Newly engaged best friends (Kate Hudson, Anne Hathaway) try to sabotage each other’s plans as they compete to see who will have the best wedding because, due to a clerical error, both have been scheduled to marry the same day.

“Johnny Got His Gun”: Dalton Trumbo directed this 1971 adaptation of his anti-war novel about the internal experiences of a wounded World War I soldier (Timothy Bottoms), a blind, deaf and mute quadruple amputee lying in an Army hospital bed, exploring his memories and fantasies and trying to communicate.

“Pete Seeger: Live in Australia 1963”: The folk-music icon in concert; many extras.

“The Uninvited”: Psychological thriller, also on Blu-ray, about a teen, fresh from a mental hospital, haunted by a vision of her late mother prompting her to investigate Mom’s unexpected death and Dad’s marrying Mom’s nurse, who may not be all she seems, shortly after; with Elizabeth Banks, Emily Browning.

“What Doesn’t Kill You”: Friends since childhood (Mark Ruffalo, Ethan Hawke) who grew up on the streets of Boston see their families start to fracture as they become more involved with organized crime. With Amanda Peet. Also on Blu-ray.

TV on DVD

“American Dad!: Vol. 4”

“Fallen Angel” (British miniseries looks at circumstances that created a serial killer played by Emilia Fox by moving backward through time to her origins; with Charles Dance)

“Hallelujah! The Complete Collection” (British comedy series about an old-school Salvation Army captain and her assistant trying to save denizens of working-class towns; with Thora Hird)

]]>http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2009/04/29/dvd-reviews-%e2%80%98jcvd%e2%80%99-worth-a-van-damme-%e2%80%98hotel-for-dogs%e2%80%99-not-a-bow-wow/feed/24Hitler meets a clown; ‘Notorious’ and the Three Stoogeshttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2009/04/23/hitler-meets-a-clown-notorious-and-the-three-stooges/
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2009/04/23/hitler-meets-a-clown-notorious-and-the-three-stooges/#commentsFri, 24 Apr 2009 01:32:46 +0000http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/?p=13783Coming Attractions: “The Clown and the Fuhrer” “Hitler Painted Roses,” a provocative short story by Harlan Ellison, looks at the one moment in time when all the denizens in hell are allowed out for a day. All leave but Adolf… Continue Reading →

“Hitler Painted Roses,” a provocative short story by Harlan Ellison, looks at the one moment in time when all the denizens in hell are allowed out for a day.

All leave but Adolf Hitler, a painter in real life, who chooses to stay behind to continue painting gorgeous frescoes of roses on the walls of hell.

I may be off on a detail or two — the tale pegs to Lizzie Borden’s visiting her family that day — but the gist is true.

The story popped into my brain while I was reading up on Wednesday’s screening of “The Clown and the Fuhrer,” a Spanish film based on a real meeting between the Nazi dictator and renowned Catalonian clown Charlie Rivel in Berlin in 1944.

The basics:

A Gestapo agent asks Rivel (Ferran Rane) and his partner to perform for Hitler on his birthday. The SS officer, who’s yearned to be a clown, insists he act with the performers.

The Nazi deports the partner, whose Jewish wife was murdered by Germans, and replaces him with a new clown, who’s much more than he seems.

The absurdity of the situation tapped into my memory of Ellison’s reading his bizarre but compelling story before a packed house in Cleveland, Ohio, when I was a teenager.

“The Clown and the Fuhrer,” a blend of black-and-white archival footage and colorful, newly shot footage, screens at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Screening Room in Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission St., San Francisco.

Alfred Hitchcock plays spy-vs.-spy in “Notorious,” a slick 1946 thriller with Cary Grant as a U.S. agent who violates the guy code by recruiting the love of his life (Ingrid Bergman) to do her sexy voodoo with the leader of a Nazi spy network (Claude Rains) in Brazil.

Look for Hitch in a cameo chugging champagne.

The film plays at 8 p.m. May 1 at the Paramount Theatre, 2025 Broadway, Oakland. Doors open at 7 p.m. The show includes a period newsreel, cartoons, previews, a raffle and a serenade by the Wurlitzer organ.

Tickets, at $5, can be bought at the theater box office, ticketmaster.com or 800-745-3000.

More $5 tix

Granted, the Three Stooges comedies are a guy thing. Women — OK, most women of my acquaintance — don’t get the comedy in the eye-poking, head-smacking or body-bashing.

It’s one of those Venus-Mars peculiarities destined to keep our sexes raising eyebrows at each other’s tastes ad infinitum — an expression you’ll never hear in a Stooges movie.

As part of its “Five Buck Tuesdays,” the Castro Theatre, 429 Castro St., San Francisco, will screen “Curly’s Greatest Hits,” two-plus hours of Stooges two-reelers, beginning at 2:30, 5 and 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Among the titles are “Microphonies,” “We Want Our Mummy” (nyuk, nyuk), “Disorder in the Court” and “Hoipolloi.”

Tickets, at $5, can be bought at the door. For more info, call 415-621-5288 or visit www.castrotheatre.com.

Save your sheckels

Disney is, how shall we say it, rereleasing or rerereleasing “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” the granddaddy of animated classics, this time in high definition.

It’s coming out as a Blu-ray combo pack containing two Blu-ray discs and a DVD version Oct. 6.

If you don’t have a Blu-ray player, you can wait for the “Deluxe 2-Disc Classic” standard-definition rererelease Nov. 24.

Or you can feel happy with the copy you already own.

The tale of the pretty princess with bad taste in apples earned an honorary Oscar for “significant screen innovation” in 1939.

It’s also on Turner Classic Movies’ recent list of the 15 most influential films of all time.

Songs in the key of grieving

OK, so they’re turning “Sleepless in Seattle” into a stage musical.

First reaction: Why?

Second: Oh, boy, an onstage lake for the houseboat.

Reportedly, producer David Shor and his minions have already penned 18 songs for “Sleepless in Seattle — The Musical,” “with more on the way.”

They’ll probably do a song-and-dance atop the Empire State Building. If ever a gorilla were missed … .

Composer/lyricist Leslie Bricusse (“Stop the World, I Want to Get Off,” “Victor/Victoria”) is attached to the project, scheduled for a first reading in May and opening in early 2010.

“Rowdy” Roddy Piper, semi-retired pro wrestler and infrequent actor (“They Live”), hammers Mickey Rourke with kudos for his Oscar-nominated portrayal of the over-the-hill title character in “The Wrestler,” new on DVD and Blu-ray.

It’s not the buffed pecs, stapled chest and flying sweat that impress Piper so much; it’s “the gentleness” characteristic of his peers when they’re away from the ring, he says on one of the disc’s few extras.

Rouke — in the midst of a comeback that mirrors his character’s, Randy “The Ram” Robinson — makes all the right moves as a former big-time wrestler reduced to small-town gigs for a few-hundred bucks a pop.

Reportedly, the actor put on an extra 50 pounds to mirror the effects of Randy’s steroid-ravaged body and destructive lifestyle.

Despite flirting with the gutter — he can’t make rent on his mobile home, he pays cash for time with his closest relationship, a stripper played by Marisa Tomei — he yearns for another shot at the championship.

Then he suffers a heart attack and tries to mend fences with his estranged daughter (Evan Rachel Wood, like Tomei, at the top of her game).

And, yes, director Darren Aronofsky’s drama takes place in cliche city, where every detour into pathos and stop for courage on the road to redemption has been taken countless times before.

The ending’s a grabber, but were it not for the stellar acting, “The Wrestler” would be borderline unbearable.

The acting makes it must-see material — if you can stomach the graphic ring violence and sentimental ooze.

Extras: One-on-one with wrestlers and filmmakers; round-table chat with Hall of Fame wrestlers such as Piper and Lex Luger on the truth about their profession; more.

I am not a crook

Nominated for five Oscars, including best picture, director (Ron Howard) and actor (Frank Langella),“Frost/Nixon” delivers a surprisingly compelling look at British talk-show host David Frost’s historical four-part 1977 TV interview with disgraced president Richard M. Nixon.

The surprise is how well Howard’s direction keeps the plot — basically, two people sit and talk — moving. Writer Peter Morgan’s fleshed-out back story, about the maneuvering to get the celebs together, helps.

But the film’s power flows from the intricate performances by Langella and Michael Sheen, who reprise their stage roles as, respectively, Nixon and Frost.

Like Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Capote,” Langella goes beyond mimicry, revealing Nixon’s dark and distorted depths, his anxieties, insecurities, pride and power. Although forced from office, he still white-knuckles his version of the truth.

Jet-setting Frost, more shallow personality than respected journalist, sees their impending confrontation as a chance to resurrect his TV career in the U.S. and to prove he has the right stuff to make a president confess his political indiscretions in front of an international audience.

The two work with the ease of actors who have performed together many times before.

Although screenwriter Morgan, also nominated for an Oscar, uses a lot of political license in his script, his story flies close enough to the truth to capture the flavors of the participants and the period, and to introduce a slice of history to those too young to remember, or not around at the time.

]]>http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2009/04/23/dvd-reviews-rourke-goes-to-mat-in-wrestler-ex-prez-vs-celeb-in-frostnixon/feed/14Mickey Rourke: living 2 large?http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2009/02/25/mickey-rourke-living-2-large/
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2009/02/25/mickey-rourke-living-2-large/#commentsThu, 26 Feb 2009 02:48:34 +0000http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/?p=11949Mickey Rourke, dude, I feel so used. Here I was, having been seriously smitten with you since the days of “9 1/2 Weeks,” actually feeling sorry for you, crying foul about how you were robbed at the Oscars because you deserved… Continue Reading →

]]>Mickey Rourke, dude, I feel so used. Here I was, having been seriously smitten with you since the days of “9 1/2 Weeks,” actually feeling sorry for you, crying foul about how you were robbed at the Oscars because you deserved you’re once in lifetime shot at a comeback from obscurity and hard times, only to realize that in actuality you live like a king, and not just any king but freakin’ Louis Quatorze in a Manhattan version of Versailles. Was all that scrappy-blue-collar-hero stuff just a pose? No self-respecting tough guy would be caught dead on a 19th-century Italian daybed. How could you play me like that? After all we’ve shared. Sigh.

]]>http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2009/02/25/mickey-rourke-living-2-large/feed/10mickey-from-ap“Friday the 13th” movie: Is it a scream?http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2009/02/20/friday-the-3th-movie-is-it-a-scream/
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2009/02/20/friday-the-3th-movie-is-it-a-scream/#commentsSat, 21 Feb 2009 00:47:18 +0000http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/?p=11831Confessions of a gore hound. It’s sad but I must admit, after all the bad reviews I read, I was a tad nervous about wasting two precious hours of downtime on “Friday the 13th” despite the presence of the dishy Jared Padalecki (ok, so… Continue Reading →

]]>Confessions of a gore hound. It’s sad but I must admit, after all the bad reviews I read, I was a tad nervous about wasting two precious hours of downtime on “Friday the 13th” despite the presence of the dishy Jared Padalecki (ok, so he’s not as cute as Jensen Ackles but who is??) over the weekend. Lo and behold, it was actually quite good, a nice, if not mindblowing, blend of comedy and horror and kitsch references that really hit the spot during these dark times (I refer of course to the period during which “Supernatural” is in reruns). I especially appreciated the fact that felt quite respectful of the original ’80s zeitgeist of teens plus sex equals axes. Good times.

Which leads me to one of my all-time fave rants: don’t you just HATE it when people who actually loathe and despise the entire horror genre, and have no idea what makes fear fun, leave aside that men with hatchets may well function as symbols of our collective existential dread, have the gall to review fright flicks? I sure do.

Freddy vs Jason? Fuggedabout it! The real question facing hard-core gorehounds this weekend is Jensens Ackles vs Jared Padalecki. You heard right my friends. After all, it’s Valentine’s Day, the time when a young girl’s heart turns to thoughts of …slashers! Besides with the deeply awesome sci-fi horror cult hit “Supernatural” in reruns, SIGH!, we’ve got to get our ya-yas somewhere, no? Both are starring in horror pictures that will have hearts racing this weekend. Jensen is in “My Bloody Valentine” and Jared is heading back to old Camp Crystal Lake for the return to “Friday the 13th.” Which brings me back to the battle of hotties…Ackles or Padelecki? Me, I’m an Ackles girl. As muscle car-driving, classic rock-cranking bad boy Dean Winchester, he’s the total package with that cute little smirk and those eyelashes. Yummy! But this here is an interactive medium. And I understand there are some who prefer the coltish good brother Sam played by Padalecki. So, who gets your valentine? Jensen or Jared?

]]>http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2009/02/13/supernaturals-jensen-ackles-and-jared-padalecki-whos-hotter/feed/352ecct0116mybloody02“The Rockford Files: Season 6″: a mini-DVD reviewhttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2009/01/30/the-rockford-files-season-6-a-mini-dvd-review/
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2009/01/30/the-rockford-files-season-6-a-mini-dvd-review/#commentsSat, 31 Jan 2009 00:12:51 +0000http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/?p=11342Welcome back to Paradise Cove, folks. The only bad thing about settling in for a gleefully retro couch potato weekend with “The Rockford Files: Season Six,” the final season of the iconic TV detective show “The Rockford Files” is that… Continue Reading →

]]>Welcome back to Paradise Cove, folks. The only bad thing about settling in for a gleefully retro couch potato weekend with “The Rockford Files: Season Six,” the final season of the iconic TV detective show “The Rockford Files” is that is has to end. Sigh. Twelve episodes is not nearly enough time to spend in the company of the ultimate ’70s shamus, a middle-aged hunk with puppy dog eyes played by the inimitable James Garner. Not only is Jim Rockford an old-school gumshoe who solves his cases through pounding the pavement and doggedly working the leads instead of falling back on “CSI”-style lab-centric hocus pocus, but he’s also very easy on the eyes. An underdog in all areas of his life, save the bedroom where he makes out like a bandit, Rockford pals around with various and sundry colorful characters (from lovable dad Rocky to shady conman Angel), all of whom spend a lot of quality time in his ramshackle trailer. Ok, so it’s perched on the beach near Malibu but it’s still a trailer. Which brings us to one of the most endearing aspects of the Rockford mystique. He’s no fancy-pants billionaire playboy. He’s a working-class guy who gets more than his fair share of bum steers but keeps plowing ahead anyway, struggling to keep his head above water every step of the way … just like the rest of us. That makes him the perfect action hero for this economy. Classic episodes include “Paradise Cove,” “The Big Cheese.” One flaw: the last episode doesn’t feel like a series finale. No CLOSURE. But this quibble is more than made up for by guest shots by everyone from Lauren Bacall and Rita Moreno to Tom Selleck. Beer, pizza and “Rockford.” We’re talking kitsch-cocoon nirvana.

]]>http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2009/01/30/the-rockford-files-season-6-a-mini-dvd-review/feed/33rockfordfromamazonDVD reviews: ‘The Express’ scores, ‘Max Payne’ plotzes, ‘City of Ember’ sails, `Saw V’ sickenshttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2009/01/22/dvd-reviews-the-express-scores-max-payne-plotzes-city-of-ember-sails-saw-v-sickens/
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2009/01/22/dvd-reviews-the-express-scores-max-payne-plotzes-city-of-ember-sails-saw-v-sickens/#commentsThu, 22 Jan 2009 15:30:58 +0000http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/?p=11046Touchdown! Just in time for the Super Bowl, “The Express” charges onto the field, inspiration under its arm, to remind us about Ernie Davis, the Syracuse University running back who became the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy. Influenced… Continue Reading →

Just in time for the Super Bowl, “The Express” charges onto the field, inspiration under its arm, to remind us about Ernie Davis, the Syracuse University running back who became the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy.

Influenced by pro football Hall-of-Famer Jim Brown, his predecessor at Syracuse and on the Cleveland Browns, Davis (Rob Brown) entered the predominantly white college on the lip of the civil rights movement and scored with his talent and determination — it sounds hokey but it’s true — against bigoted teams and players.

His clashes and evolving friendship with Syracuse coach Ben Schwartzwalder (Dennis Quaid) proved vital for both of them.
“The Express,” Davis’ nickname, offers another take on themes delivered in sports films such as “Remember the Titans,” which is more emotionally involving, and b-ball’s “Glory Road,” which isn’t.

The biopic works by showing Davis’ growth as a socially conscious man as well as a player and by minimizing sentimentality while creating a strong sense of place and time. The game sequences are exciting and realistic (see the extra on shooting them) and Gary Fleder’s taut direction keeps scenes moving quickly. Also on Blu-ray.Extras: Short on the real Davis, shooting the games, Davis’ legacy; making-of piece; deleted scenes; filmmaker’s commentary.‘Max’ is a pain“Max Payne” is instantly forgettable murk based on a popular video game that must have been created by unsettling people with bleak lives.

The film’s plastered with surreal, spooky images and slabs of unpleasantness in a noirish New York City filled with angry people you’d never invite over for dinner.Mark Wahlberg, in his nothing-will-ever-make-me-smile-again mode, plays Max, a maverick DEA agent, out to avenge the murders of his wife and child as, at the same time, he investigates a series of murders. Also on Blu-ray.Extras: Unrated extended cut of film; digital copy; animated graphic novel with insights into the killing of Payne’s family and his quest from vengeance; making-of doc.Slick ‘City’
“The Goonies” meets “Dark City” in “City of Ember,” a captivating futuristic saga aimed at tweens but likely to appeal to older fans of fantasy as well.

On a post-apocalyptic Earth, the remaining population lives in a dying underground city of flickering lights and little food, prompting two industrious teens to scurry to find the secret behind their city and a way out before darkness covers everything.

Based on a young adult novel, the film’s a satisfyingly offbeat and exciting diversion with plenty of movement, plucky heroes, strong visuals and a decent script. Saoirse Ronan (“Atonement”), Tim Robbins and Bill Murray star. Extras: None.Seeing ‘Saw’
I sacrificed 1 hour, 32 minutes of my life to see “Saw V” and I still don’t get the appeal of series.

It’s built around sadism, gore, and Rube Goldberg-like contraptions that usually end with a severed head or limb.

People are kidnapped, tortured and sentenced to die unless they perform ghastly acts that usually result in the demise of another captive and, or, the loss of a limb.

“Saw V” comes to you littered with body parts and drenched in blood.
The film resurrects Jigsaw (Tobin Bell), the sadistic executioner seen in flashback as his protégé, a homicide cop (Costas Mandylor) under suspicion by a colleague, continues the torture “games” with five tainted captives connected by an evil deed.

Grim, gruesome, pointless. On Blu-ray, too.Extras: Commentaries; shorts on the torture traps; piece on editing a trap.Also on DVD“Amusement”: In an anthology of related vignettes, a killer stalks three women friends because of something nasty that happened in their childhood.“President Barack Obama: The Man and His Journey”: The expected deluge begins with this documentary about the 44th president’s run for office and his election in the context of the country’s history; Blair Underwood narrates.“Boogeyman 3”: The Boogeyman kills coeds; can’t he ever hunt greedy corporate execs?“Charlie & Me”: When a 12-year-old’s grandfather/best friend gets a terminal diagnosis, the two fill his remaining days teaching each other how to live life to the fullest; with Tom Bosley and Jordy Benattar.“Center Stage: Turn It Up”: Hockey player-turned-dancer helps street dancer achieve dream of training at renowned ballet academy; with Rachele Brooke Smith.“The Deal”:William H. Macy and Meg Ryan star in a screwball romantic comedy about a fading producer who restarts his career with a series of studio deals involving his nephew’s slick script; also on Blu-ray.“Election” on Blu-ray: Matthew Broderick’s stiff schoolteacher clashes with Reese Witherspoon’s go-getter candidate for student body prez in Alexander Payne’s sharp dark comedy.“The End of America”: Doc about the threat to democracy created by the Bush administration.“Henry Poole is Here”: When a neighbor sees a holy image in a stain on the wall of his tiny house, it upsets a self-pitying man’s plans to sulk in peace in this fable about love; with Luke Wilson; also on Blu-ray.“Igor”: Animated shenanigans in a city of mad scientists and wicked gadgets; also on Blu-ray.“National Lampoon’s Stoned Age”: Inventive cave man tries to influence tribe, win girl, defeat enemy; with Ali Larter.“Repo! The Genetic Opera”: In the near future, an epidemic of organ failures sparks a biotech company to sell organs, then hunt recipients if they can’t pay; rock opera with Alexa Vega, Sarah Brightman, Paris Hilton, Anthony Head; also on Blu-ray.“Taxi Blues”: Jewish saxophone player becomes friends with Russian cabbie he stiffed; in Russian with subtitles.“Tribute: Stanley Tookie Williams”: Docu about the Crips co-founder, Nobel Prize nominee and children’s book author executed at San Quentin in 2005.TV on DVD

“The Adventures of Walker & Ping Ping”

“Children of the Stones” (engrossing 1970s British sci-fi series about a creepy English village where everyone’s happy)

]]>http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2009/01/22/dvd-reviews-the-express-scores-max-payne-plotzes-city-of-ember-sails-saw-v-sickens/feed/7Oscars presenters to be kept secret until showtimehttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2009/01/14/oscar-presenters-to-be-kept-secret-until-showtime/
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2009/01/14/oscar-presenters-to-be-kept-secret-until-showtime/#commentsWed, 14 Jan 2009 23:46:30 +0000http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/?p=10956The post Oscars presenters to be kept secret until showtime appeared first on A+E Interactive.
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